Monday, February 21, 2011
Damask favor wraps
350 black and white damask favor wraps hot off the presses and ready to be slipped onto Menehune Mac chocolates...yum.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Can you hear it?
It started as a low rumbling at first, then it got louder and more resonant, like a pack of wildebeests stampeding across the plain. It's the excited murmurs among Anthropologie addicts celebrating the store's official launch of their wedding collection, BHLDN. To say the least, it was highly anticipated and long overdue.
I've been asked on numerous occasions where brides can look for inspiration for their invitations or wedding decor. This, my dear readers, is what would inspire me:
I've been asked on numerous occasions where brides can look for inspiration for their invitations or wedding decor. This, my dear readers, is what would inspire me:
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Hardy (and hearty!)
Worked on a big project last week. Really big. My normal canvas of choice measures 5" x 7", but my latest project came in at a whopping 4 feet by 6 feet. Here's the story of how it came to be.
PREFACE
A couple of weeks ago, I chatted with Mona Hirata of Weddings by Grace and Mona about her upcoming workshop @ The Wedding Cafe. Mona had an idea for her table and asked if I could help her execute it. Now, the one thing I can always count on happening during any meeting with Mona is that she'll challenge me as a designer. This was no exception.
CHAPTER 1: Mona's BIG Idea
A 4-ft x 6-ft foam core board that would hang from the pipe and drape behind her table. She referred me to a couple of Ed Hardy prints as inspiration and wanted something to pop against the black drape and linen. Mona envisioned a vine with three large roses in purple, pink, and red...and, uh, no thorns and no dripping blood, please. Turnaround on design and printing would have to be QUICK, QUICK, QUICK as she would then turn the board over to Jae Yoo at My Florist for embellishment.
CHAPTER 2: The Basics
Here's the initial concept as I sketched it out during our meeting:
CHAPTER 3: This Is Gonna Be HUGE
We quickly realized that a piece this large with only three flowers would mean a lot of empty white space. Normally, I love white space but the first design concept looked too bare, too simple.
CHAPTER 4: Less Is More...Unless It's Not Enough
With 24 square feet of space to fill up, the first thing I did was add some leaves. The vine needed a little more life, too. Added in some curly cues here and there, a few more roses, and a few more colors.
CHAPTER 5: Off To Print And A Tiny Hiccup
A few rounds of revisions, and the design was approved for print. Successfully submitted my artwork and got it in the print queue. Delivering a piece this large proved to be a challenge for the print shop,though, so we arranged to have Jae (aka florist extraordinaire) pick up the piece in his van. Small hiccup, no biggie.
CHAPTER 6: If I Can't See It, It Doesn't Exist
It's hard for a designer to produce something and not see the finished piece. The turnaround at the print shop was less than 24 hours (yippee!) and since Jae picked up the piece himself, I didn't get to see what the board looked like. Were the colors right? Did they put the grommets in the right place? Did it have the glossy finish that I asked for? I had to hope for the best and wait patiently while Jae performed his magic.
CHAPTER 7: Success!
Here is the finished product with a happy Mona standing next to it:
And a close-up shot of the crystals that Jae laboriously added to each and every petal. Amazing...
The first set came in a silk portfolio embellished with a large crystal buckle on the front:
Tucked into the interior portfolio pockets were four color-coordinated notecards with smaller rhinestone buckles and Swarovski crystals.
The second stationery set included ten notecards with hot pink and clear Swarovski crystals, pearl metallic envelopes, and a chocolate brown silk pouch.
EPILOGUE
PREFACE
A couple of weeks ago, I chatted with Mona Hirata of Weddings by Grace and Mona about her upcoming workshop @ The Wedding Cafe. Mona had an idea for her table and asked if I could help her execute it. Now, the one thing I can always count on happening during any meeting with Mona is that she'll challenge me as a designer. This was no exception.
CHAPTER 1: Mona's BIG Idea
A 4-ft x 6-ft foam core board that would hang from the pipe and drape behind her table. She referred me to a couple of Ed Hardy prints as inspiration and wanted something to pop against the black drape and linen. Mona envisioned a vine with three large roses in purple, pink, and red...and, uh, no thorns and no dripping blood, please. Turnaround on design and printing would have to be QUICK, QUICK, QUICK as she would then turn the board over to Jae Yoo at My Florist for embellishment.
CHAPTER 2: The Basics
Here's the initial concept as I sketched it out during our meeting:
CHAPTER 3: This Is Gonna Be HUGE
We quickly realized that a piece this large with only three flowers would mean a lot of empty white space. Normally, I love white space but the first design concept looked too bare, too simple.
CHAPTER 4: Less Is More...Unless It's Not Enough
With 24 square feet of space to fill up, the first thing I did was add some leaves. The vine needed a little more life, too. Added in some curly cues here and there, a few more roses, and a few more colors.
CHAPTER 5: Off To Print And A Tiny Hiccup
A few rounds of revisions, and the design was approved for print. Successfully submitted my artwork and got it in the print queue. Delivering a piece this large proved to be a challenge for the print shop,though, so we arranged to have Jae (aka florist extraordinaire) pick up the piece in his van. Small hiccup, no biggie.
CHAPTER 6: If I Can't See It, It Doesn't Exist
It's hard for a designer to produce something and not see the finished piece. The turnaround at the print shop was less than 24 hours (yippee!) and since Jae picked up the piece himself, I didn't get to see what the board looked like. Were the colors right? Did they put the grommets in the right place? Did it have the glossy finish that I asked for? I had to hope for the best and wait patiently while Jae performed his magic.
CHAPTER 7: Success!
Here is the finished product with a happy Mona standing next to it:
And a close-up shot of the crystals that Jae laboriously added to each and every petal. Amazing...
CHAPTER 8: Oh, There's More?
In addition to producing this larger than life display board, Mona asked me to create a suite of custom stationery to hand out as prize giveaways during the workshop. To my delight, she gave me carte blanche to come up with something fabulous.The first set came in a silk portfolio embellished with a large crystal buckle on the front:
Tucked into the interior portfolio pockets were four color-coordinated notecards with smaller rhinestone buckles and Swarovski crystals.
The second stationery set included ten notecards with hot pink and clear Swarovski crystals, pearl metallic envelopes, and a chocolate brown silk pouch.
The final set included pretty floral patterned cards with one super fancy showcase piece finished with a fabric flower and feathers...all housed in a flip-top silk box.
EPILOGUE
I love it when I'm afforded the opportunity to flex my design muscles a bit. I love it even more when I can collaborate with talented individuals and breathe life into someone's fantastic vision. Thanks, Mona!
Photos courtesy of Kris Labang Photography
Photos courtesy of Kris Labang Photography
Friday, February 4, 2011
Last words about the expo
Almost forgot to post this photo from the Hawaii Bride and Groom Booth at the Bridal Expo. The beautiful florals were designed by Su-V Expressions and the linens, chair covers and napkins were provided by Les Saisons.
To complement the pewter gray linen, I designed this menu card (inspired by one of our new invitation designs):
In collaborating with other wedding vendors, I always get a Project Runway "group challenge" vibe. We're each working on our own designs and hope that in the end we'll come up with something cohesive that brings our shared vision to life.
I'm contributing stationery items for a photo shoot next week and am, again, crossing my fingers that my pieces will mesh with the designs envisioned by the talented florists that I'm working with! More to come on that later...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Proof it. Proof it good.
I always urge my clients to have a parent or friend review their proofs because sometimes a fresh pair of eyes will catch something they didn't. Maybe the ceremony start time is off by an hour, maybe the reception venue address is missing a number, maybe the RSVP deadline is two weeks too late???
I've got a handful of invitation orders in the queue that are all in the proofing stage and I'm beginning to sound like a broken record: "Check the spelling of names, confirm addresses, times, dates...and then check it again!" If you mispell your future mother-in-law's name, you'll never hear the end of it. You've been warned.
Once your invitations are in the hands of your guests, any error that was overlooked can't easily be fixed. Take another ten minutes and go over your wording carefully, it's worth it.
Note: This post is dedicated to my own personal proofreader who never fails to catch my typos in this blog, which I THOUGHT were few and far between. Apparently not. Thanks, Mom.
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